


When the best fall down

by omia65



Series: I work with them now [5]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Blood and Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-23 12:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3768187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omia65/pseuds/omia65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliot gets beat up a lot, but this time is different.  This is the worst he's been hurt since they've bonded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the best fall down

            Not every job goes according to plan.  Sometimes Parker isn’t as quiet as she needs to be.  Sometimes Hardison isn’t fast enough to open the door locks before the guards arrive.  Sometimes Eliot actually does come across someone with his strength.  Most of the time, they can regroup.  But not every time.

            Parker’s thinking that this job has actually pretty well as she lands on the roof of Lucille 7.  She’s sliding through the passenger side window when everything goes wrong.  Eliot’s hurt.  She hears him yell out.  She hears Hardison’s scream.  She hears gunshots.  More than anything, though, she feels it, a sharp pain searing through the bond.  When Eliot’s in control, he doesn’t let his pain get shared through the bond.  Parker’s only felt Eliot’s pain a few times, and this is the worst yet.  For a moment Parker can’t move.  She can barely breathe.  The pain doesn’t let up, and that can only mean that Eliot isn’t well enough to stop sharing it through the bond.  It’s not a good sign. 

            Parker’s in the driver’s seat before she really even thinks about what to do next.  She needs to find her alpha.  She only has to pull around the corner to see what’s happened.  Hardison’s got a bloody nose, but he looks absolutely fine compared to Eliot.  He’s slumped over sideways, blood matting his hair and covering his face.  His shoulder is hanging at a funny angle.  There’s more blood on his right side.  His shirt is in tatters.  He’s barely moving.  His eyes are closed. 

            Parker jumps out of the van and runs to help Hardison.  She’s almost too focused on getting Eliot in the van and relative safety to see the gun in Hardison’s hand, or the way he’s shaking like a leaf. 

            “I had to shoot him.”  Hardison says.  “It was the only way to save Eliot.  I had to shoot him.”

            Parker looks over her shoulder and sees a man crumpled on the ground just outside the lobby doors.  The bullet wound is serious enough, but he’ll live, if the sound of sirens getting closer means anything.  “You did the right thing.”  Parker tells him.  “Brace yourself.  Moving him is going to hurt all of us.”

            The constant pain Parker’s been feeling through the bond pierces even deeper as she and Hardison half-carry, half-drag Eliot to the van.  Parker knows Hardison isn’t in a good place right now, but Eliot’s worse off, and she can do first aid better than Hardison, so she tosses him the keys. 

            “Get us home.”  Parker tells him, stopping long enough to squeeze his hand.  “I’ve got Eliot.”

            They’re halfway across the city from home, and Parker’s not going to be able to do much in the van, but she’s got to stop the bleeding at least.  Eliot’s not responding to anything she says, so she finally props him upright and gets to work.  He’s got a dislocated shoulder that’s going to have to wait until they’re home to fix.  Parker tears off what remains of his shirt.  It’s not a pretty sight.  A bullet had taken a nasty bite out of Eliot’s side.  Parker pulls their first aid kit out and gets to work stopping the blood there.  The rest of Eliot’s torso and arms are covered in slashes that could have only come from a knife.  There are some deep enough to be worrisome, and all are oozing blood. 

            “Tell me what happened.”  Parker says quietly to Hardison.  She’s known him long enough to know how badly he’s freaking out inside.  She’s torn between continuing to patch up her alpha and crawling into the front so she can comfort her other mate.  But Eliot’s problems are more immediate, so she stays where she is.

            “That guy caught me.  That’s how I got the bloody nose.  Eliot came to get me.  They started fighting.”  Hardison’s voice is monotone, like he’s reading what happened off a piece of paper.  “He flipped Eliot over and slammed him on the ground.  That’s when his shoulder went.  Eliot got back up, but the guy had pulled his gun out by then and shot him.  Eliot managed to get the gun away from him, but he was bleeding pretty badly already and he couldn’t use that arm at all.  The guy got out a knife and started really going after Eliot.  I had to stop him, so I grabbed the gun and shot him.”

            “I’m glad you were there.”  Parker says, her voice catching a little.  “To save him, I mean.”  Hardison doesn’t answer, but Parker wasn’t expecting him to.  By now she’s patched up the worst of Eliot’s wounds well enough to last until they get to the apartment.  She turns her attention to his face.  There’s a nasty cut along his forehead and a bad bump on the side of his head.  She mops up the blood off his face as best she can.  Eliot hasn’t said anything yet.  Parker starts talking to him, trying to catch his attention and keep him from closing his eyes completely. 

            It feels like hours have passed by the time they finally are back in their apartment.  Eliot seems to wake up a little when he realizes where they are, and it’s slightly easier to hold him upright as they go inside.  Parker leads them straight to the bathroom.  Her alpha is swaying a little by now, looking like he can’t keep himself upright much longer.  With Hardison’s help, she positions Eliot and pops his shoulder back into place.  The two omegas barely react in time to catch Eliot when his knees go out. 

            “Sit him on the shower bench.”  Parker says.  “We’ve got to go back and clean all his wounds and bandage them properly.  And we’ve got to get him cleaned up.”

            Eliot moans in pain when Parker carefully uncovers the bullet wound.  “No baths.”  He says, and while it’s not exactly what Parker was hoping to hear the alpha say, it’s better than the eerie silence. 

            “You’ve been shot enough times that we know baths aren’t good for bullet wounds.”  Hardison says.  It’s a weak attempt at joking, but Parker welcomes it, pressing a kiss against his cheek.  Eliot even manages what could be a smile, but it’s hard to tell with all the blood dried on his face.  For a moment the three of them stay pressed together, Hardison and Parker both desperate to _feel_ that their alpha is okay. 

            It takes a long time to get Eliot cleaned and bandaged properly.  He keeps refusing to take any painkillers, so Hardison grabs a bottle of whiskey and Eliot downs most of it and grits his teeth against the pain.  Parker has to stitch up the worst of the slashes across Eliot’s chest and arms.  The whole time he’s got a death grip on Hardison’s arm.  Parker looks up at some point and sees how hard he’s trying to keep from crying out. 

            “It’s okay.”  Parker tells him.  “You’re safe.  You don’t have to hide anything with us.”  It’s an old habit of Eliot’s that been almost impossible to break.  He still sees himself so much as their protector that he never seems sure of what to do with himself when roles are reversed.  Hardison leans over and presses a kiss to the top of Eliot’s head, just like Eliot always does when either of the omegas are hurt.  Eliot’s eyes close for a moment, and when they open, he finally seems able to let go a little.

            “Love you guys.”  Eliot says.  “Thanks for taking care of me.”

            Parker finishes the last of the stitches.  “That’s what we’re here for.”  She tells him softly.  “We’re bonded.  We’ve all got each other’s backs.”

            Eliot smiles.  “I like that.”  He says, and yawns.  “Bed?”  He asks.

            “Almost.”  Hardison says.  The whole time Parker’s been working on the stitches, he’s been carefully sponging the blood out of Eliot’s hair and gently detangling it with his fingers. 

            “Love you.”  Eliot says again, and Parker’s not used to him being so open about his feelings like this.  She’s never doubted that he loves them, but he’s always been more of a guy to show his love rather than say it. 

            “Love you too.”  Hardison says, Parker echoing him seconds later.  “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

            It takes longer than normal to walk across the hall and into their bedroom, partly because of Eliot’s wounds and partly because he’s practically asleep standing up.  It’s a bit of a struggle to get him into the middle of the bed and propped up with pillows, and Eliot mutters something about ruining the sheets, but eventually he’s all tucked in.

            “Don’t leave.”  Eliot says – pleads.  Parker really isn’t used to hearing Eliot sound needy, and the omega in her cries out, urges her to make sure her alpha is okay and safe and feels loved.  Hardison must feel the same way, because he curls up against Eliot’s good side – well, the one without a bullet wound – and tells him that they aren’t going anywhere.  Parker sits cross-legged on Eliot’s other side.  He’s too battered for her to cuddle in, even though she desperately wants to.  Still, she thinks Hardison needs the closeness of his alpha more, given how shaken he was when Parker found them, so she just takes Eliot’s hand and traces the lines on his palm.  It’s comforting, even if it isn’t the full contact she’s craving. 

            They stay like that for a long time, none of them speaking, just holding onto Eliot and silently reassuring each other that they are all safe.  Eliot falls asleep, a soft smile on his face, and Parker’s relieved to see it, hopes that at least tonight her alpha won’t be plagued with bad dreams and memories of what happened to him.  Hardison falls asleep soon after.  Parker watches the two of them.  Their breathing is in sync.  She finally starts to feel calm after everything that’s happened.  It’s peaceful seeing the two people she loves most in the world curled up together.  Parker thinks back to when she was too afraid of letting anyone get close to her and wonders how she survived.  She can’t imagine that know.  Days like this scare her, with their reminders that Eliot isn’t superhuman and that he can be hurt just like anyone else.  She doesn’t like thinking about that. 

            Parker presses a kiss to Eliot’s open palm, then another against Hardison’s cheek.  She brushes Eliot’s hair out of his eyes.  She lays down carefully so she doesn’t accidentally hit one of Eliot’s wounds and presses her hand into Eliot’s palm.  It’s not long before she falls asleep too. 

**Author's Note:**

> As requested, here is some hurt Eliot with Hardison and Parker taking care of him. There will probably be more fics like this in the future, because I am all about my baby Eliot getting taken care of and comforted. And I'm thinking of writing a follow up to this with grumpy recovering Eliot.
> 
> Please, please, please leave comments and let me know what you think! And feel free to request something you'd like to see in this verse!


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